Red List Status
EN - Endangered, B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) (IUCN version 3.1)

Red List Assessment

Red List Status

Is the reassessment subject to the 5-year rule? (Not specified)

Assessment Information

Date of Assessment: (Not specified)

Reviewed? (Not specified)

Assessor(s): (Not specified)

Reviewer(s): (Not specified)

Contributor(s): (Not specified)

Facilitators/Compilers: (Not specified)

Institution(s): (Not specified)

Acknowledgements: (Not specified)

Regions: Global

Regional Expert Questions: (Not specified)

Assessment Rationale

Leobordea spicata has a very restricted distribution, with an estimated extent of occurrence of 815.601 km² and an area of occupancy of 16 km². The majority of the population is under threat from overgrazing by livestock resulting in ongoing habitat degradation. Based on this, it has been assessed as Endangered, under Criteria B1 and B2.
Date last seen: 1994

Reasons for Change

Reason(s) for Change in Red List Category from the Previous Assessment: (Not specified)

Red List Index

Red List Index: (Not specified)

Distribution

Geographic Range

This species is known from four or five localities in the Eswatini highveld, the distribution extending from the Mankayane area in the south to the mountains near Maguga in the north. The elevation for these records is based on coordinates estimated from locality descriptions and might have a high degree of error, due to the mountainous topography of the area.

Area of Occupancy (AOO)

Estimated area of occupancy (AOO) - in km2	Justification
16	This species has been recorded in about four localities, information obtained from herbarium specimens, often without detailed locality information. The estimated area of occupancy was calculated using GeoCAT (Bachman et al. 2011), with the standard 2x2 km grid cell being applied.

Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO)	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	-

Extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy (AOO): (Not specified)

Extent of Occurrence (EOO)

Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO)- in km2	EOO estimate calculated from Minimum Convex Polygon	Justification
815.601	true	The extent of occurrence has been based on localities estimated from the descriptions on herbarium specimen labels, calculated using GeoCAT (Bachman et al. 2011).

Continuing decline in extent of occurrence (EOO)	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	-

Extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence (EOO)	Justification
Unknown	-

Locations Information

Number of Locations	Justification
4	The number of locations has been estimated from the locality descriptions on herbarium specimen labels.

Continuing decline in number of locations	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	-

Extreme fluctuations in the number of locations: (Not specified)

Very restricted AOO or number of locations (triggers VU D2)

Very restricted in area of occupancy (AOO) and/or # of locations	Justification
Yes	The area of occupancy for this species is 16 km2, based on information from five records. It is possible that this species is under-collected and might occur at other localities in the Eswatini highveld.

Elevation / Depth / Depth Zones

Elevation Lower Limit (in metres above sea level): 790

Elevation Upper Limit (in metres above sea level): 1460

Depth Lower Limit (in metres below sea level): (Not specified)

Depth Upper Limit (in metres below sea level): (Not specified)

Depth Zone: (Not specified)

Map Status

Map Status: (Not specified)

Biogeographic Realms

Biogeographic Realm: Afrotropical

Country	Presence	Origin	Formerly Bred	Seasonality
Eswatini	Extant	Native	-	Resident

Population

This species is known from five records, probably from four localities, within the Eswatini highveld. No population surveys have been carried out, and the most recent records for this species are from 1994.

Population Information

Current Population Trend: Unknown

Number of mature individuals (=population size): (Not specified)

Extreme fluctuations? (in # of mature individuals): (Not specified)

Severely fragmented? (Not specified)

Continuing decline in mature individuals? (Not specified)

Continuing decline % in mature individuals within 1 generation or 3 years, whichever is longer (up to max. of 100 years in the future): (Not specified)

Continuing decline % in mature individuals within 2 generations or 5 years, whichever is longer (up to max. of 100 years in the future): (Not specified)

Continuing decline % in mature individuals within 3 generations or 10 years, whichever is longer (up to max. of 100 years in the future): (Not specified)

Extreme fluctuations in the number of subpopulations: (Not specified)

Continuing decline in number of subpopulations: (Not specified)

All individuals in one subpopulation: (Not specified)

Number of mature individuals in largest subpopulation: (Not specified)

Number of Subpopulations: (Not specified)

Population Reduction - Past

Percent Change in past: (Not specified)

Past Population Reduction Basis: (Not specified)

Causes of past reduction reversible? (Not specified)

Causes of past reduction understood? (Not specified)

Causes of past reduction ceased? (Not specified)

Population Reduction - Future

Percent Change in future: (Not specified)

Future Population Reduction Basis: (Not specified)

Population Reduction - Ongoing

Both: Percent Change over any 10 year or 3 generation period, whichever is longer, and must include both past and future, future can't go beyond 100 years: (Not specified)

Both Population Reduction Basis: (Not specified)

Causes of both (past and future) reduction reversible? (Not specified)

Causes of both (past and future) reduction understood? (Not specified)

Causes of both (past and future) reduction ceased? (Not specified)

Quantitative Analysis

Probability of extinction in the wild within 3 generations or 10 years, whichever is longer, maximum 100 years: (Not specified)

Probability of extinction in the wild within 5 generations or 20 years, whichever is longer, maximum 100 years: (Not specified)

Probability of extinction in the wild within 100 years: (Not specified)

Habitats and Ecology

This species is known from four or five localities in the Eswatini highveld, in vegetation type KaNgwane Montane Grassland (Gm16) (Mucina et. al. 2018). The type specimen was recorded from a sandy stony plateau area, after fire.

IUCN Habitats Classification Scheme

Habitat	Season	Suitability	Major Importance?
4.7. Grassland -> Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	Resident	Suitable	Yes

Continuing Decline in Habitat

Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat?	Qualifier	Justification
Yes	Inferred	There is ongoing heavy grazing through most of the highveld grassland in Eswatini.

Life History

Generation Length: (Not specified)

Age at maturity: female or unspecified: (Not specified)

Age at Maturity: Male: (Not specified)

Size at Maturity (in cms): Female: (Not specified)

Size at Maturity (in cms): Male: (Not specified)

Longevity: (Not specified)

Average Reproductive Age: (Not specified)

Maximum Size (in cms): (Not specified)

Size at Birth (in cms): (Not specified)

Gestation Time: (Not specified)

Reproductive Periodicity: (Not specified)

Average Annual Fecundity or Litter Size: (Not specified)

Annual Rate of Population Increase: (Not specified)

Natural Mortality: (Not specified)

Does the species lay eggs? (Not specified)

Does the species give birth to live young: (Not specified)

Does the species exhibit parthenogenesis: (Not specified)

Does the species have a free-living larval stage? (Not specified)

Does the species require water for breeding? (Not specified)

Movement Patterns

Movement Patterns: (Not specified)

Congregatory: (Not specified)

Systems

System: Terrestrial

Plant / Fungi Specific

Wild relative of a crop? (Not specified)

Plant and Fungal Growth Forms: (Not specified)

Use and Trade

General Use and Trade Information

Species not utilized: (Not specified)

No use/trade information for this species: true

General notes regarding trade and use of this species: (Not specified)

Local Livelihood: (Not specified)

National Commercial Value: (Not specified)

International Commercial Value: (Not specified)

End Use: (Not specified)

Is there harvest from captive/cultivated sources of this species? (Not specified)

Trend in level of total offtake from wild sources: (Not specified)

Trend in level of total offtake from domesticated sources: (Not specified)

Harvest Trend Comments: (Not specified)

Non- Consumptive Use

Non-consumptive use of the species? (Not specified)

Explanation of non-consumptive use: (Not specified)

Livelihoods

Livelihoods: (Not specified)

Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity
2.3.2. Agriculture & aquaculture -> Livestock farming & ranching -> Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing	Majority (50-90%)	Slow, Significant Declines

Conservation

One of the four known localities for this species is within Malolotja Nature Reserve, in the Ngwenya Mountains.

Conservation Actions In- Place

Action Recovery Plan	Note
No	-

Systematic monitoring scheme	Note
No	-

Conservation sites identified	Note
Yes, over part of range	One locality for this species is within Malolotja Nature Reserve.

Occur in at least one PA	Note
Yes	This species has been found in the Ngwenya Mountains within Malolotja Nature Reserve.

Percentage of population protected by PAs (0-100)	Note
21-30	One out of four localities falls within a protected area.

Area based regional management plan	Note
No	-

Invasive species control or prevention: (Not specified)

Harvest management plan	Note
No	-

Successfully reintroduced or introduced benignly	Note
No	-

Subject to ex-situ conservation	Note
No	-

Subject to recent education and awareness programmes	Note
No	-

Included in international legislation	Note
No	-

Subject to any international management/trade controls	Note
No	-

Important Conservation Actions Needed

Conservation Actions	Note
1.2. Land/water protection -> Resource & habitat protection	The establishment of more measures to conserve the highveld grassland areas within Eswatini would increase the potential for survival of this species.
3.4.2. Species management -> Ex-situ conservation -> Genome resource bank	No material has yet been collected for ex-situ conservation of this species.

Research Needed

Research	Note
1.2. Research -> Population size, distribution & trends	Fieldwork is required to determine the population size, distribution and trends for this species.
1.3. Research -> Life history & ecology	Information on this plant's life history and ecology is needed for planning of conservation actions.

Leobordea spicata - (Compton) B.-E.van Wyk & Boatwr.